


Most in the World

by skywalkersamidala



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Smut, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 11:17:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18387359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkersamidala/pseuds/skywalkersamidala
Summary: Novella and Lorenzo team up to save Francesco from his inner demons and Jacopo's manipulations.





	Most in the World

**Author's Note:**

> Smut ahead! Be warned!

There was something bothering Francesco, Lorenzo just knew it. And he was worried. He had worked so hard to free Francesco from Jacopo’s hatred, and now that old darkness was settling over him again. Lorenzo wasn’t going to let the darkness take away his friend again, not this time.

So he went to his home one afternoon when he knew Francesco would be at the bank. “Lorenzo, what a pleasant surprise,” Novella said, smiling at him. “But I’m afraid Francesco isn’t home at the moment—”

“I know,” Lorenzo said. “I wanted to talk to _you,_ actually.”

“Me? What about?”

“About Francesco. Has he seemed different to you lately?”

Novella’s smile faded. “Yes. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed,” she said softly. “I thought I was only imagining things, but…”

Lorenzo nodded. “You’re not imagining it, he’s not himself,” he said. “I was wondering if you can think of any reason why that might be?”

“No, nothing unusual has happened lately…oh,” Novella said suddenly. “There was something. I—I went to see Jacopo without telling Francesco because I thought he’d be angry, but he found out anyway. And he promised me he wasn’t angry with me, but I know it upset him.”

Lorenzo listened worriedly as she filled him in on what Jacopo had said to her and how Francesco had reacted when he’d asked her about it later. “I _knew_ Jacopo had to be involved somehow…he must be up to something,” he said. “He’s been blocked time and again in the Signoria since Francesco started voting with me, he must want to get Francesco back on his side.”

“But how?” Novella asked, looking equally worried. “What do I have to do with that?”

Lorenzo thought hard, analyzing every word of Novella’s conversations. “Perhaps he’s trying to sow mistrust in Francesco’s mind,” he said slowly. “You’re the person he loves most in the world, if Jacopo can shake his trust in you, then he’ll be alone, he’ll be more susceptible to his manipulations.”

“What about you?” Novella said. “If he wants Francesco to break his political ties with you, surely it would be _you_ he’d be trying to turn him against.”

Lorenzo recalled the dinner in Francesco’s honor, how Francesco had been late, how Lorenzo had asked if everything was all right and he’d avoided the question. How he kept watching Lorenzo and quickly putting on a smile when Lorenzo caught his eye, how his smiles always faded when he thought no one was looking at him.

“Maybe he is,” Lorenzo said. “Maybe he’s trying to cut Francesco off from _both_ of us.”

“That _is_ like what Francesco said. About how Jacopo divides people.”

“Exactly. He’s trying to divide Francesco from the two us,” Lorenzo said. “And we have to stop him. But how?”

Novella bit her lip, looking nervous all of a sudden. “I…I have an idea, actually.”

“You do?” Lorenzo said, surprised. “What is it?”

“You said I’m the person Francesco loves most in the world. But that’s not true. I’m only one of them.”

“Oh. Do you mean Guglielmo?”

“Well, yes, Guglielmo is one of them too,” Novella said. “But who I really meant was _you.”_

Lorenzo stared at her. “Me?”

“Of course. Haven’t you seen the way he looks at you?” Novella said. “He loves you.”

“Yes, as—as a _friend,”_ Lorenzo said, his heart racing.

She shook her head, smiling slightly. “More than that. He looks at you the same way he looks at me. He loves you the same way he loves me.”

“But that’s—he doesn’t—you’re his wife,” Lorenzo spluttered. “He doesn’t love me that way—”

“He _does_. He hasn’t told me so, but I can see it in his eyes.”

“I—” Lorenzo swallowed nervously. “If that’s true, then I’m sorry. I wouldn’t wish to come between you or—”

“You misunderstand me. I don’t mind, Lorenzo,” Novella said, and indeed she still had that little smile on her face. “I don’t mind that he loves you as well, because I know he loves me just as much. And because I love _him_. I want him to be happy. So I have to ask you, do you love him?”

Lorenzo exhaled, trying to process all of this information. And Novella’s question. He thought of the moment Francesco had first stood up in the Signoria to vote in his favor. He thought of the look on his face the first time Lorenzo had called him family. He thought of Piero’s christening, of Francesco glancing up from the baptismal font and catching his eye and smiling at him.

“Yes,” Lorenzo whispered. “I do. I love him.”

“If we are to combat Jacopo’s manipulations, Francesco needs us. Both of us,” Novella said. “Forgive me if I overstep, I would not ask such a thing if I wasn’t so worried about him. But I wonder if…perhaps…you might consider…joining us. Just for one night.”

She was blushing, and Lorenzo could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You mean, join you—in bed?” he clarified.

Novella blushed harder. “Yes,” she said. “Francesco needs reassurance that we both love him. Before it’s too late.”

“I’d like that,” Lorenzo said, more quickly than he meant to, and now he was blushing. “Well—that is, I’ll have to ask Clarice first.”

“Yes, of course, I would not wish to do anything without her agreement,” Novella said. “But…I think you’ll find she won’t mind.”

Lorenzo furrowed his brow, thinking of how upset she’d been by his affair with Lucrezia Donati. “What makes you say that?”

“Well…we’ve discussed this before,” Novella admitted. “You and Francesco, your feelings for each other. She’s noticed it too.”

“She—but—” Once again Lorenzo found himself speechless. “She hasn’t said anything to me about it!”

“Why would she have? We both thought it would be best if we stayed out of it and let you two work it out amongst yourselves,” Novella said. “Well, until now when circumstances demanded intervention.”

“But—”

“Talk to Clarice,” she said. “And if she agrees, let me know if you’re still interested.”

“All right. Yes. I will.”

Lorenzo headed home feeling far too many emotions all at once. Anger at Jacopo and fear for Francesco. Elation that Francesco might love him in return. Embarrassment that Clarice had picked up on his own feelings. Worry that she would think he loved Francesco more than he loved her.

As luck would have it, he ran into Clarice as soon as he walked into the house. “Lorenzo, I thought you’d still be at the bank,” she said, smiling and coming over to kiss him in greeting.

“I was…dealing with something,” Lorenzo said vaguely, glancing around to see if any of his other family members might be nearby and eavesdropping. “Can we talk privately?”

“Of course,” Clarice said, looking surprised.

They went into their bedroom and shut the door. “I went to see Novella and ask her about Francesco,” Lorenzo said without preamble. “You know I’ve been worried about him lately.”

“Yes,” Clarice said. “What did she say?”

He summarized the first part of the conversation. “Then she said—she said she thinks Francesco is in love with me,” he said nervously. “And she asked me if I felt the same way.”

He was afraid Clarice would get upset, but she only said, “Do you?”

“Yes,” Lorenzo said softly. “But it isn’t—I mean, it doesn’t change how I feel about you, Clarice, I love you so much and—”

“I know,” she interrupted gently, taking his hands. “I know you love me, and I’ve known for a long time that you love Francesco too. I just wasn’t sure if _you_ had figured it out yet.”

“Novella did mention that the two of you had talked about it,” Lorenzo said ruefully. “You truly don’t mind?”

Clarice shook her head. “I don’t. I promise.”

“But with Lucrezia—”

“With Lucrezia, it was so early in our marriage. I felt insecure,” Clarice said. “There was this beautiful woman you’d been in love with since you were sixteen, and I was a stranger to you. I thought I would never be able to gain even your respect, let alone your love. But now I’m confident that I have both of those, so it doesn’t bother me that you love Francesco too.”

Lorenzo looked at her in amazement. “You are without a doubt the most selfless woman I’ve ever known,” he said, and Clarice laughed. He proceeded to tell her about Novella’s proposition. “But if you’re even the slightest bit uncomfortable with this, I’ll tell her no.”

But Clarice smiled. “You have my full permission,” she said. “I want you to be happy. And I want Francesco and Novella to be happy too. All three of you are dear to me.”

Lorenzo leaned in and kissed her deeply. “Thank you, Clarice,” he murmured against her lips.

“You can thank me by freeing Francesco from Jacopo’s influence once and for all.”

“I’m not sure it will even work.”

“It will. I know it,” Clarice said. “All Francesco has ever wanted is to be loved, it’s easy to see that. Once he’s truly confident that you and Novella love him as much as he loves you, there will be nothing Jacopo can do to separate him from either of you.”

* * *

Francesco shrugged his cloak off and handed it to the waiting servant, then wandered through the house looking for Novella. _If she’s even here,_ a sly voice that sounded rather like Jacopo whispered in his mind. _If she’s even here waiting for you and not at the Medici home with Lorenzo and the others, laughing at you behind your back, laughing at how easy you are to deceive._

“Francesco!”

Novella came out of the next room, smiling at him so brightly that Francesco’s doubts dissipated. But he knew they’d be back late that night, keeping him awake. Novella walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “How was the bank?” she asked.

“Fine,” Francesco said. “What have you been doing today?”

“Oh, nothing exciting. I was reading for a while, I came across the _most_ beautiful poem in your study, I’m not sure if you’ve read it before…”

Francesco listened to her chatter on for a while, his misgivings starting to return. Novella was usually talkative, yes, but not to this extent. Was she hiding something?

“And I meant to tell you,” she said after she’d paused for breath, “Lorenzo is coming over for dinner.”

Francesco’s stomach twisted. “What? Why?”

“Why shouldn’t he? He’s our friend,” Novella said. Was it Francesco’s imagination, or did she look nervous?

 _If that is what she told you, then it must be the truth. Or a lie Lorenzo told her to spin._ Again he heard the words echoing around his head, Jacopo’s suggestions that Lorenzo had been playing him for a fool this whole time, that he was feeding Novella lies to give to Francesco, that Novella was spying on him for Lorenzo.

“Francesco?” Novella said. “Are you unhappy? I can send word telling him not to come—”

“No,” Francesco said. “No, it’s fine. I wish you had asked me first, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry. I will next time, I promise.”

“Is Clarice coming too?”

“No, she’s feeling unwell today. It will just be Lorenzo.”

Lorenzo arrived shortly afterwards. “Francesco,” he said, smiling. “Thank you for the invitation.”

Did he truly not know that Novella had invited him without Francesco’s consent, or was he only pretending? Was that smile genuine or false? “We’re glad you could come,” Francesco said, forcing a smile himself.

Lorenzo kissed Novella’s hand in greeting, and just as it had when he’d arrived at the dinner in his honor and seen them laughing together, jealousy washed over Francesco.

 _But jealousy of whom?_ some part of him wondered. He pushed the thought aside.

As dinner began, Francesco noticed that Novella still seemed nervous, and so did Lorenzo. His suspicion grew by the minute. Were they plotting something? They were both talking a lot, too much, while Francesco remained quiet unless directly asked a question.

And they continued talking for a while after they’d finished eating, until Francesco finally cut in. “It’s getting late,” he said. “Lorenzo, I’m sure you’ll want to be getting home soon.”

“Actually,” Novella said, “there was something we both wanted to discuss with you, Francesco.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You both?”

“Yes. We were talking and—”

“You were talking?” Francesco repeated. “When was this?”

“A few days ago,” Novella said.

“Where was I?”

“At the bank.”

Francesco clenched his jaw, jealousy churning again in his stomach. “I see.”

“Anyway,” Novella continued, seeming more nervous now at his obvious displeasure, “we realized that we have something in common.”

“Really?” Francesco said coolly. “And what’s that?”

“You,” said Lorenzo.

Francesco paused, thrown. “What do you mean, me?”

“We both love you,” Lorenzo said. “We’re both _in love_ with you.”

For a moment Francesco could only stare at him, dumbfounded. Either they were playing some sort of trick on him or he was dreaming, those were the only possible explanations. He looked to Novella, hoping she would interject some sense into the conversation, but she just smiled at him.

“What—what are you talking about?” Francesco managed at last. “You—Lorenzo, you—you’re in love with me?”

“Yes,” Lorenzo said. “I have been for a long time.”

“But Clarice—”

“I’m in love with her too. I love both of you. And she knows that and doesn’t mind.”

“I don’t mind either,” Novella said. “We both love you so much, Francesco, and we want to make you happy, if only you’ll let us.”

“I don’t understand,” Francesco whispered, feeling close to tears for some reason.

Novella reached across the table and laid her hand on top of his. “I think you love him too,” she said. “I might be wrong. Tell me if I am, and we’ll speak no more of this. But I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

“I love _you,”_ Francesco protested.

“I know,” Novella assured him with another smile. “But it’s possible to love more than one person at a time.”

Francesco turned back to Lorenzo and met his eyes. He saw nervousness there, hope…and love. Francesco felt dizzy and breathless, his heart was pounding. He licked his lips, which had suddenly become very dry. “I…”

But he simply didn’t know what to say. Lorenzo seemed to sense this, and he stood and moved around to the other side of the table, kneeling down beside Francesco’s chair. Smiling slightly, Lorenzo reached out and touched his cheek, letting his hand rest there as he leaned in until his face was an inch from Francesco’s.

“Say the word and I’ll stop,” he said, his breath tickling Francesco’s skin.

Francesco said nothing, and then Lorenzo’s lips were on his. Francesco closed his eyes and kissed him back hesitantly, still holding Novella’s hand. After a long moment, Lorenzo drew away. He watched Francesco closely, waiting to see how he would react.

But Francesco looked over at Novella, still unable to process that this was really all right with her, that she really didn’t mind seeing her husband kissing someone else. And another _man,_ no less. Novella squeezed his hand and then let go of it so that she could come to stand beside him as well. She leaned down and slid her arms around his shoulders, hugging him from behind.

“Well?” she said.

“You love me,” Francesco said in wonder, not entirely sure which one of them he was talking to.

Novella kissed him on the cheek. “Yes.”

Lorenzo smiled and took his hand. “Yes.”

Francesco let out a breath, and then he tentatively started to smile. These two people he loved so much, he’d let Jacopo convince him that they were using him, lying to him, betraying him. But they weren’t. They loved him too. Just as much as he loved them.

 _Maybe they’re lying still,_ that voice was insisting, but Francesco could hardly hear it anymore as he looked back and forth between Novella and Lorenzo. The pure love in their eyes—it wasn’t possible to fake that.

Novella pressed another kiss to his jawbone. “Come to bed with us,” she murmured.

Francesco’s eyes widened. “Both—both of you?”

“Only if you want,” Lorenzo said.

Francesco swallowed, his breath quickening. How many times had he imagined this? How many times had he laid awake at night, touching himself while imagining Novella and Lorenzo both in his bed, coming all over his own hand with both their names on his lips, embarrassment overwhelming him as soon as the bliss of climax passed?

But if they both wanted this too, then what did he have to be embarrassed about?

“Y-yes,” he said, voice cracking a little. “Yes.”

Lorenzo stood and tugged Francesco out of his chair, and Novella grabbed his other hand, and together they led him to the bedroom.

Once they’d arrived, Lorenzo started kissing him first. Francesco kissed him back more confidently this time, mentally noting all the differences to kissing Novella. Novella’s lips were soft and full, Lorenzo’s firm and insistent. Both equally pleasurable.

“My turn,” he heard Novella saying after a while, and Lorenzo chuckled against his mouth and stepped away so Novella could kiss him.

Francesco cupped her cheek with one hand and ran the other through her hair, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. A moment later he gasped into the kiss as he felt Lorenzo’s lips on his neck, his body pressing close against Francesco’s back.

Novella started unbuttoning his outer tunic and Francesco shrugged it off, then broke the kiss so that Lorenzo could pull his undershirt off over his head. Francesco pushed Novella’s gown off her shoulders, down her arms, past her hips, until it was pooling at her feet. She stepped out of it and her shoes and kicked them aside, then moved back to Francesco and kissed him again.

Francesco ran his hands up and down her body, arousal coiling within him as he savored the feeling of her skin under his touch. He heard the sound of clothing being removed and then Lorenzo was behind him again, his chest now bare and warm against Francesco’s back. He could feel Lorenzo already getting hard, and Francesco choked back a moan when he started grinding against him.

Francesco slipped one hand between Novella’s legs, making her breath hitch, and he smiled when he felt how wet she was already. He started touching her in earnest and playing with her breasts with his other hand, and Novella sighed and clutched his shoulders for support.

Lorenzo was still sucking on his neck, and now his hands wandered down to the waistband of his pants. He slid one hand down the front and Francesco inhaled sharply when he grasped his cock. His hand between Novella’s legs faltered in its rhythm as he shamelessly rutted into Lorenzo’s hand, pleasure swelling inside him.

Novella let go of his shoulders and instead quickly undid his pants, shoving them down and freeing his cock. “I want to watch you,” she said, her eyes dark and her face flushed.

The knowledge that his wife found it arousing to watch him and Lorenzo together made heat pulse low in Francesco’s stomach. He turned around to kiss Lorenzo on the lips, fumbling with his pants now. At last they were fully off and Francesco stepped back to drink in the sight of him, his mouth going dry.

Smiling, Lorenzo nudged him towards the bed and Francesco fell back onto it willingly. Lorenzo kissed his way down his body until he finally reached his cock. He glanced up and met Francesco’s eyes, the half-smirk on his face making Francesco groan softly. And then Lorenzo took him in his mouth and Francesco let out a harsh gasp, tangling his hands in Lorenzo’s hair.

He felt the bed shifting and he turned to see Novella climbing onto it beside them. She positioned herself to get a good view and then started touching herself, whimpering and biting her lip. Francesco was certain he’d never been more aroused in his entire life, watching Novella touch herself to the sight of Lorenzo sucking him off.

He enjoyed it for a little longer before reaching out to Novella. Seeming to sense what he wanted, she crawled over and straddled him. Francesco grabbed her hips and replaced her fingers with his mouth, loving her familiar taste, loving how loudly she was moaning, loving Lorenzo’s mouth around his cock, loving the obscene sounds he was making.

Novella came onto his tongue with a gasp, her body shuddering above him. Francesco was so close to the edge, just a little more and he would—

He groaned in frustration as Lorenzo’s mouth suddenly vanished. Lorenzo moved back up as Novella climbed off him, and then he was kissing him. Francesco kissed him back and desperately rubbed himself against Lorenzo’s thigh, chasing the climax that was just out of reach.

Lorenzo laughed and held his hips still. “Not yet,” he murmured. “I want to be inside you.”

He said it almost like a question, drawing back from the kiss and looking at him, waiting for permission. Francesco’s breath caught. He’d never been fucked before, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. Hadn’t thought about _Lorenzo_ doing it. His mind told him it was shameful, but the rest of him was begging for it, needed to feel Lorenzo inside him, filling him.

So he nodded vigorously, and Lorenzo smiled and gently nudged him to make him roll over onto his stomach. Novella found the bottle of oil they kept on the nightstand and passed it to Lorenzo. Francesco couldn’t see what was happening behind him, but his heart was pounding in anticipation, excitement, nervousness.

Then he felt Lorenzo’s finger pressing against his entrance and gently pushing inside, and he gasped, his whole body tensing up. Novella soothingly stroked his hair, murmuring words of praise as Lorenzo’s finger went further in. It brushed against a spot that made Francesco cry out, pleasure abruptly spiking throughout his body.

Francesco buried his face in the pillow, moaning like a cheap whore as Lorenzo kept at that spot, gradually adding a second finger. Again he thought he should be ashamed to be taking such pleasure in this, but it was difficult to feel shame when he was surrounded by Novella and Lorenzo’s love, in every touch, every word, every kiss.

Three fingers now. Francesco felt so full, he couldn’t even imagine how Lorenzo’s cock was going to fit inside him. Suddenly he wondered if that was how Novella had felt on their wedding night, and he almost had to laugh. She was still petting his hair and he turned his head to look at her, reaching out so he could start lazily fingering her; he was rewarded with a pleased sigh.

At last Lorenzo slid his fingers out, and Francesco whined at the loss. Lorenzo rolled him over again so that Francesco was on his back and they were facing each other. “I want to see your face,” Lorenzo said, slicking his cock up with oil and positioning it at Francesco’s entrance.

He pushed inside so slowly, so gently, but even so Francesco gasped in shock, his hands gripping the bedsheets tightly. “Just breathe,” Novella instructed, rubbing his arm. “You’ll adjust soon.”

And indeed, as the minutes passed, the strangeness of having Lorenzo inside him was replaced by intense pleasure. Francesco hesitantly moved his hips, which Lorenzo took as a sign that he was ready for him to move faster. Lorenzo slid out and thrust back in again, harder this time, making Francesco moan and throw his head back. “More,” he panted.

Soon Lorenzo was fucking him in a steady rhythm and Francesco was moaning more shamelessly than he ever had before. Novella crawled on top of him and kissed him hard, and he eagerly kissed her back, whimpering into her mouth when she started grinding against his cock. “Please,” he whispered. “Novella, please.”

He couldn’t fully articulate what he wanted, but she understood him anyway. Giving him one last kiss, she sat up, gripped his cock in her hand, and lowered herself onto it. Francesco gasped as her warm wetness surrounded him, and a particularly hard thrust from Lorenzo made his hips jerk, pushing himself deeper into Novella and making her cry out.

She started riding him, moving her hips in time with Lorenzo’s. Francesco was perpetually torn between wanting to thrust back onto Lorenzo and forward into Novella, so he settled for just lying there and letting them give him overwhelming pleasure. Lorenzo kissed Novella’s shoulder, leaving one hand on Francesco’s hip and moving the other between her legs to help push her towards climax.

Francesco would have expected to feel jealousy at seeing another man touch his wife like this, but he didn’t. On the contrary, it was incredibly arousing, watching Novella’s head fall back onto Lorenzo’s shoulder, her face contorting in ecstasy. And it made his heart swell to see the two people he loved most in the world giving pleasure to each other too instead of just to him.

Novella finished first, and her walls tightening around him combined with a deep thrust from Lorenzo made Francesco come too, harder than he ever had in his life, ecstasy shooting through every inch of his body as a strangled cry fell from his lips. And then finally Lorenzo was spilling inside him with a grunt, his fingers digging into Francesco’s hip.

Francesco lay back against the pillow, boneless and exhausted and panting for breath. And happy. So happy. Even in the middle of it some subconscious part of him had feared that once it was over, that familiar embarrassment would come crawling back and he would realize this had been a horrible idea. But as Francesco looked up at Novella and Lorenzo, equally sweaty and breathless and smiling, all he felt was a love so overwhelming he thought he might burst.

Novella climbed off him and Lorenzo slid out of him, and they both laid down on either side of him, Lorenzo wrapping his arms around him from behind and Novella snuggling into his chest. Francesco closed his eyes, letting their warmth and affection wash over him.

Lying here sandwiched between the two halves of his heart, he had never felt more loved. Jacopo’s murmurs and insinuations had never seemed more false.

“Lorenzo,” Francesco said at last, breaking the contented silence. “Why did you invite Novella to Florence?”

Lorenzo let out a huff of laughter. “Well, I never wanted to tell you this because I feared you’d be upset, but…I actually planned for her to marry Giuliano.”

That wasn’t what Francesco had expected at all. “What?”

“Oh yes, her father and I were agreed in the matter, but Giuliano wouldn’t cooperate.”

Novella looked just as startled as Francesco. “Really? I was set to marry Giuliano?” she said. “My father never told me that. He wouldn’t tell me why the invitation was extended to me as well, he only said that I had to tell everyone I was there as a friend of Bianca’s to attend her wedding.”

“Yes, that was our idea,” Lorenzo said. “We didn’t want to reveal our plans for the betrothal until they were fully solidified, so we had to find another excuse for your presence.”

“And that’s all it was?” Francesco said. “That’s the only reason you invited her?”

“That’s the only reason,” Lorenzo confirmed. “Why do you ask?”

“Well…it was something my uncle said. He implied that you’d invited Novella to Florence and arranged for her to marry me so—so that you’d have someone to spy on me,” Francesco said, feeling silly as he spoke the words aloud. How could he have believed them?

“Spy on you? I would never betray you like that,” Novella said, astonished. “I’m loyal to you. I always will be.”

“As will I,” Lorenzo said. “I’d never want to spy on you, or use you or manipulate you.”

Novella reached up to touch his cheek. “We love you, Francesco. Please tell us you know that.”

Francesco smiled, the very last of his doubts and worries vanishing for good, and he nestled closer against Lorenzo while adjusting his grip on Novella to hold her more snugly. “I know.”

* * *

“God knows these Medici men can’t get enough of bedding other men’s wives,” Jacopo said maliciously as Francesco was walking out the door.

Francesco paused in the doorway, a smirk spreading across his face unseen by his uncle. _Other men_ and _their wives,_ he silently corrected him, making a mental note to share the conversation with Novella and Lorenzo later so they could all have a good laugh about it.

**Author's Note:**

> ..........personally I imagine Clarice getting in on this arrangement sooner or later lmaoo anyway I hope you enjoyed this! And check out the fabulous graphics OnTheGround2012 made to go along with this fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18422604


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